"Alright then, the first round of exploration for the 3rd floor will be conducted by Miss Shinomiya and me."
In the living room of Room 206, Gao Hai, sitting at the table, lightly tapped its surface and announced the result of their discussion in a calm tone.
"That's right, let's settle on that. How about we set the operation time for 10 minutes from now?"
Sitting on the other side, Kaguya nodded slightly and spoke in an even voice.
"Let's do that. I'll be in charge of staying behind as a backup for any emergencies. You two be careful. That's not a good place."
Maki, propping her head up with one hand, also chimed in, her eyes filled with seriousness.
The plan for exploring the final area of the Shirakawa Apartments, the 3rd floor, which was currently the most important task, was basically settled.
Although Gao Hai himself would have preferred to go with Maki, since they knew each other inside and out, Maki had objected. She subtly reminded him that Kaguya was actually feeling somewhat uneasy and anxious about the current situation. It would be best for him to go with her this time to ensure that this loop's Kaguya could get to know him to some extent. Furthermore, considering the intricate and complex structure of the third floor as described by Gao Hai, Kaguya, with her stronger neural responses and physical素质, would indeed be more helpful.
Gao Hai actually suspected that Maki was temporarily a bit afraid to be alone with him due to their earlier conversation in the hallway. However, her points were valid, so Gao Hai accepted the proposal. As for Kaguya, she didn't refuse either. After the opening sequence where Gao Hai and Maki coordinated to kill two people, this proud and brilliant girl was, to be honest, already quite disoriented. Now, having a chance to act personally would help alleviate the unease in her heart.
Sun Dajun, just like in the previous loop, was responsible for repairing the two doors of Room 204. This time, however, he had Green and Mameier, two big men—one black, one white—to back him up. They should be able to react better to any dangerous situations. Putting Green aside, this teammate named Mameier proved to be more useful than Gao Hai had anticipated. He would cheerfully do whatever Gao Hai's group said, never argued with anyone on the team, and even had a bit of an adventurous spirit, wanting to take on exploration tasks himself. Moreover, his willpower was quite good; after putting on the badge, he could maintain his own consciousness for about a minute, long enough to remove the badge of his own accord.
If Gao Hai hadn't felt uneasy about leaving Sun Dajun's protection solely to Green, he probably would have considered taking this Black young man with him. On a side note, after some questioning, Gao Hai discovered that this young man named Mameier was a waiter and creative chef at a Chinese-style restaurant in America. His signature dishes were Hami Melon and Beef Flatbread Stew and Mapo Tofu Pizza. According to him, he had also recently been trying to make sashimi steamed buns and was struggling with how to cook the bun while ensuring the fish slices inside remained raw.
He seemed like a cheerful young man. It was quite a shame that a guy like him had become a sacrifice for someone like Lao Guo in the first two loops.
Maki and Miwa Maeda stayed in the same room. Miwa Maeda was responsible for being the first to turn the clock. Gao Hai and Kaguya agreed with Maki to return within 3 hours. If neither of them could make it back to the second floor within that time, Maki would have to order Miwa Maeda to turn the clock.
As for how to ensure a smooth return from the 3rd floor, that involved another Obsession Item from Lao Guo's possession: a blood-colored key that could open almost any door.
This Obsession Item hadn't been obtained by Gao Hai's group at first because it had been dropped in Room 210 when Lao Guo was being pummeled by the headless male corpse in that room, so they hadn't found it.
But Gao Hai, having been through the previous loop, knew Lao Guo had this item. Therefore, after taking stock of their gains, he spent a considerable amount of time searching and finally entered Room 210, where he retrieved the key after trapping the headless male corpse with a blood puppet.
A door opened with this key had a certain probability of leading to a place the user wanted to go, or of luring something dangerous to the person who opened it. It was a double-edged sword that had to be used with caution. At the same time, for Gao Hai and Kaguya who were about to explore the 3rd floor, it was also their only chance of a safe return. After all, the entire structure of the 3rd floor was so complex that finding the way back to the second floor was extremely difficult.
"Don't you die up there, Hai-kun. And you too, Great-Auntie."
Before they left, Maki waved at the two of them and spoke in a slightly impertinent tone.
"Don't worry, I cherish my own life very much."
Gao Hai gave Maki a thumbs-up.
"You'd better."
Maki didn't meet Gao Hai's gaze, just huffed in reply.
They reached the stairwell at the edge of the 2nd floor.
Kaguya reached up and smoothed down her long black hair, her cold gaze sweeping over Gao Hai beside her. She then looked towards Maki, who was still in the hallway and hadn't returned to her room. Her mouth opened slightly, but in the end, she said nothing.
The relationship between those two was very good.
Whether it was their tone of voice when they spoke to each other, their expressions, or the general atmosphere of their interactions, it was clearly something only people with a very good relationship could have.
As the Shijo family was a branch of the Shinomiya family, Kaguya Shinomiya knew Maki Shijo quite well. She was certain that in Maki Shijo's usual social circles, it was impossible for her to have come into contact with someone like Gao Hai. Considering that both Gao Hai and Maki had mentioned the clock's time reversal, perhaps the two of them had already been living in this apartment for a long time. It was just that in the end, no one else survived, and they couldn't find a way to escape, so they decided to use the clock to reset everything and start over.
At least from the way the two of them presented a united front, that seemed to be the case.
But Kaguya felt that things might not be that simple. Although she had no concrete evidence, although it was merely her intuition, Kaguya believed that Gao Hai and Maki were hiding a shared secret from everyone else.
It was certainly intriguing, but... that wasn't the key issue right now. How to escape the Shirakawa Apartments, how to leave this place, was the most pressing problem at hand.
"Mr. Gao Hai."
Before stepping into the stairwell, Kaguya turned to face Gao Hai and spoke seriously.
"I don't care what Miss Maki's reasons are for trusting you, but now that we are going to act together, I expect you to demonstrate sufficient ability and value."
"If this is truly a dangerous game that can lead to death, then victory can only be achieved if everyone gives their absolute all."
"I hope you don't perform so poorly that I start to doubt Miss Maki's judgment."
It had to be said, Ice Kaguya's way of speaking was not cute at all, a far cry from the angelic Maki.
Of course, for Gao Hai, who knew the plot, he understood it wasn't Kaguya's fault. In the end, the Shinomiya zaibatsu, as set up by Akasaka, was basically a concentration camp for morons. For Kaguya to have been educated in such a hellish place and only come out with a harsh way of speaking and a cold personality was already a blessing in disguise.
However, while he could understand, Gao Hai wouldn't be polite to her. He knew very well that you couldn't be subservient to proud people like her; that would only make Kaguya look down on him even more.
"Who's going to disappoint whom remains to be seen, you little hothouse flower. If this mission ends early because of you, I'll be the one looking down on you."
So Gao Hai tilted his head up and adopted a highly flamboyant, provocative stance.
"Hmph. At least in terms of rudeness, you certainly don't disappoint. We should go. According to you, this staircase leads to the third floor regardless of whether we go up or down, correct? In that case, let's move immediately and see just how dangerous this third floor you speak of really is."
Her brow furrowed even tighter, Kaguya strode forward directly.
Gao Hai followed close behind, the two of them stepping into the stairwell one after the other.
A chill permeated the air.
Darkness enveloped everything.
Walking within it, Gao Hai couldn't tell if he was going up or down, or simply walking straight ahead. It was as if direction and elevation had lost all meaning in this darkness, making it impossible to perceive the correct orientation.
However, this bizarre sensation didn't last long. Soon, Gao Hai's vision cleared, and that chaotic, twisted third floor appeared before him once more.
But what was different from before, perhaps because it was currently daytime, was that this chaotic area was no longer dark. Instead, there was light from some unknown source, illuminating all the distorted corridors and various pieces of furniture around them.
"A place like this actually exists..."
Beside him, Kaguya's voice trembled slightly. Even after having seen the corpses summoned by the blood puppet, this nightmarish, chaotic, and bizarre space was clearly more impactful.
But even though Kaguya was shocked, she adjusted her emotions with extreme speed, returning to a state of calm tranquility.
She wasn't here for a stroll or to sightsee. She was here to act jointly with the incredibly mysterious man beside her, to uncover the secrets hidden in this chaotic place, and to find a way to escape, a hope of getting out of here alive.
"Let's go."
Gao Hai had already started walking forward.
"Mm..."
Kaguya nodded lightly and said no more, walking carefully beside Gao Hai, passing through the structurally distorted corridor and moving ahead.
What could possibly be waiting for her up ahead?
The young woman couldn't help but wonder.
"Ah..."
Then her hair got caught in a crack in a warped wooden wall, bringing her to a sudden halt.
Gao Hai quickly noticed Kaguya's situation, stopped, and helped her free her snagged hair.
"The terrain here is too complex. With your hair down like this, it'll get caught easily. You should tie it up."
Saying this, Gao Hai looked around but couldn't find anything suitable, so he tore a long strip from his own T-shirt and handed it to Kaguya.
"...Thank you."
Unexpectedly running into trouble right at the start, a slightly embarrassed Kaguya whispered her thanks. She took the strip of cloth, ignoring the suspicious red and white stains on it, and immediately gathered her hair and tied it up, ensuring it wouldn't hinder her movements.
"It's nothing."
Gao Hai only noticed the stains on the cloth as she was taking it, but it was too late to say anything, so he could only keep a straight face and reply casually as if nothing was wrong.
Why does this feel like I've tied my own brain to Kaguya's head? Ugh, that's a weird way to put it. Better not to overthink it.
"Sorry for the trouble. I'm fine now."
A moment later, Kaguya, with her hair tied up, turned around and said calmly to Gao Hai.
But then she noticed that his gaze wasn't on her, but was fixed on a spot somewhere ahead in the corridor.
So Kaguya's gaze followed his, and she saw several doll-like things, about a meter tall and resembling small children. They were approaching while giggling, yet their feet dragged along the ground without making a single sound.
"Not these damn things again. Let's go, quick!"
Lowering his voice, Gao Hai tapped Kaguya's shoulder, then quickly turned and fled. Kaguya, only now realizing the danger, started running with him. She then heard the children's laughter behind them rapidly grow louder as they closed in with inhuman speed.
Sound... children...
No... that's not right. They aren't children. This thing... is affecting my thoughts?
In the end, Gao Hai and Kaguya managed to climb onto a tall cabinet in time, hiding from these things whose appearance and sounds both had mentally contaminating properties.
Being forced to press her body tightly against a member of the opposite sex on top of a cabinet was not a pleasant experience, but under attack by these strange entities, Kaguya could only endure it, striving to maintain a poker face and pretend she didn't care at all.
As for Gao Hai, he had no thoughts on the matter. He was carefully watching out for those children, paying no mind to his physical contact with Kaguya Shinomiya. He was on guard for any other monsters that might appear from elsewhere, paying no mind to his physical contact with this petite young woman. He was prepared to turn the clock and rewind time at a moment's notice, completely ignoring the fact that the girl's soft, fragrant body was pressed against his own.
Her body seems a bit firmer than Maki's, more elastic too?
Gao Hai contemplated the various subtle differences in how the two girls' bodies felt to the touch.
Several minutes later, these things gradually departed, and the two were finally able to climb down from the cabinet.
"So this is the third floor of the Shirakawa Apartments?"
Recalling how she had involuntarily fallen into a trance upon hearing the sounds of those bizarre things, Kaguya couldn't help but frown and murmur.
"This is just the beginning."
But Gao Hai, whose expression hadn't changed from start to finish, simply stated this calmly and continued to walk forward.
Ahead in the dim corridor, the chaotic architecture led to an unknown destination.
The only thing that could be confirmed now was that they could not stop, could not stay in one place.
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